A Lakewood taxpayer opening his eyes

To The Esteemed Va’ad=aka BMG / Askonim / Va’ad hamosdos, etc of Lakewood NJ

I actually thought of submitting this letter back in April right after the BOE elections but waited until now to send it in wanting to make sure my views weren't a knee jerk reaction but rather reflecting my & others feelings after careful consideration and reconsideration. I'm writing this letter after viewing the results of the LAKEWOOD BOE Elections.

I hope the askonim realize the days of telling people who to vote for, basing your opinions on yourself serving interest=$$$ for your school, pet projects, real estate exchanges under the table deals etc are over.

The public at large can’t and won’t continue to shoulder the tax burden at its expense, for the few to reap the benefit while the rest of us see our taxes continuously rising year after year out of control and have services cut.

I think a complete overhaul is in order both at the BOE as well as the township level including but not limited to the planning / zoning boards as well as the Township committee

TERM LIMITS may be one answer to the problem of keeping costs down w /o giving up or cutting services and taxes won’t keep rising. If one is voted in and is there for a longer period of time he becomes comfortable in his position and doesn't need to prove himself or be on guard looking over his shoulder.

Once a politician is entrenched in his position there are all sorts of situations which can lead one to lean or vote one way for ulterior, self serving interests or motives. If there were term limits in place say for 4 years then the people who run to actually help and serve the public have actually done their civic duty will now help the public by stepping down.

Thank you-now let someone else come in and help the public if the real reason why people run for office is to help the public they help the public by leaving when their term is up as well and make room for someone else to serve the public.

With out getting personal, some of the newer elected committee members who ran on a platform of cutting spending have actually delivered. While the longer elected members may be fulfilling their civic duties they aren’t necessarily fair and balanced to the public as a whole but lean towards following the wishes of their connected powerful friends.

TERM LIMITS would in most cases eliminate people becoming too comfortable in their elected positions not being able to promise anyone anything for too long being their terms aren't that long and if needing to be reelected every 2 years gives the public a chance to check their record what have they delivered to better the town,mosdos,the public. We tend to forget that THE TZIBBUR IS MADE UP OF INDIVIDUALS.

Decisions affecting the public in order to benefit a few mosdos in the name of benefiting the tzibbur are at a minimum misleading and dishonest .Perhaps illegal as well, using public money to fund projects that benefit a few individuals vs. the rest of the township.

I don't mean to point fingers at anyone in particular, as on a personal level I think all the elected committeemen are good people but not everyone has acted or voted on the merits of the issues being voted on w/o outside private interests influencing their voting decisions

Sincerely yours,

a long time citizen of Lakewood NJ

Sorry, I can't forgive for the dollars that were taken from me.